Wisdom Teeth Removal: Optimize Whole Body Health

Did you know that keeping your wisdom teeth can increase your risk for gum disease and tooth decay? It’s true; retaining wisdom teeth can be very problematic for your overall health. Moreover, keeping your wisdom teeth can affect your entire wellbeing.

Many patients who keep their wisdom teeth suffer from headaches, facial pain, orthodontic and occlusal issues, and TMJ disorder. Wisdom teeth are typically removed by an oral surgeon because they present a number of side effects that affect a person’s wellbeing and quality of life. Having these teeth removed can prevent a host of health conditions, improve quality of life, and preserve optimal oral function.

Orthodontic and Occlusal Issues

Since wisdom teeth emerge during adulthood, they can disrupt the positioning of the rest of a person’s well-established adult teeth. This is because existing teeth are already spaced throughout the mouth, limiting the available space for new teeth. When wisdom teeth begin to come in, it will cause unwanted tooth movement. Existing teeth typically end up very crowded and sometimes so pressed for space that they overlap or twist.

The unwanted shifting of existing teeth into unhealthy positions is troublesome for many patients because they have already received orthodontic treatment. Additionally, this unwanted tooth movement can affect the occlusion. The bite (or occlusion) refers to the way that teeth line up when the mouth is closed and where they make contact with each other during oral function. An unhealthy occlusion can stress facial muscles, the temporomandibular joints (TMJs), and cause orofacial discomfort. Timely removal of wisdom teeth can prevent occlusal and orthodontic issues by extracting wisdom teeth before they have time to cause tooth movement.

Oral Health Risks

In addition to orthodontic and occlusal issues, wisdom teeth pose a great threat to one’s oral health – especially since these teeth are normally impacted (stuck in the gums). Impacted teeth do not erupt fully or properly. This means that debris and harmful bacteria collect on the surface of these teeth and tend to become trapped under the gums. When this occurs, the gingiva surrounding teeth and teeth themselves are prone to infection. Having them removed as soon as possible greatly reduces health risks.

To schedule a consultation for wisdom tooth removal, call our team at Stonebriar Facial & Oral Surgery today.